Stable isotopes and a changing world

Hobson, Keith A.

doi:10.1007/s00442-023-05387-w

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 166 publications

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“…The integration of stable isotopes, DNAmetabarcoding, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic, has revolutionized ecological studies with echinoderms, providing valuable insights into their trophic interactions, biodiversity, and microbial associations. Stable isotopes have been instrumental in unraveling the trophic ecology of echinoderms, shedding light on their feeding habits, diet preferences, and ecological roles within marine ecosystems (González-De Zayas et al, 2020;Hobson, 2023). DNA-metabarcoding has transformed the way we assess echinoderm biodiversity, allowing for efficient species identification and revealing hidden diversity and community dynamics (Leray et al, 2013;Sinniger et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent molecular techniques to strengthen ecological studies in echinoderms

Rodríguez-Barreras

2024

Rev. Biol. Trop.

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Introduction: Echinoderms, an integral component of marine ecosystems worldwide, have captivated scientific interest for centuries. Despite this longstanding attention, comprehending key facets such as trophic relationships, diet composition, and host-microbiota relationships still represents a challenge using traditional techniques. Recent years, however, have witnessed a transformative shift, thanks to the emergence of advanced molecular techniques, offering new approaches to strengthen ecological studies in echinoderms. Objective: Explore how recent advancements in molecular tools have impacted ecological research on echinoderms. Specifically, we aim to investigate the potential of these tools to shed light on trophic interactions, diet composition, and the characterization of gut microbial communities in these organisms. Methods: Available literature was used to clarify how novel molecular techniques can improve ecological studies. The focus is diet, trophic relationships, and gut microbiota. Results: Traditionally, studies of stomach contents using compound microscopy have provided an idea of ingested material; nevertheless, sometimes a simple magnified visualization of dietary content does not allow exhaustive identification of the entire food spectrum, as it is limited due to the rapid digestion and maceration of food items within the echinoderm’s digestive tract. The use of DNA-metabarcoding, targeting specific DNA regions, such as the mitochondrial COI gene, has allowed us to enhance the accuracy and precision of diet characterization by enabling the identification of prey items down to the species or even genetic variant level, providing valuable insights into specific dietary preferences. Another approach is the use of stable isotopes, particularly carbon and nitrogen, which provide a powerful tool to trace the origin and flow of nutrients through food webs. By analyzing the isotopic signatures in muscular tissues and food items, we can discern the sources of their primary food items and gain insights into their trophic position within the ecosystem. Lastly, a third new technique used to elucidate the characterization of the prokaryotic community is 16S rRNA sequencing. This method allows us to explore the composition and dynamics of the digestive tract microbial communities. Conclusions: This is a promising era for ecological research on echinoderms, where advances of molecular tools have enabled an unprecedented level of detail, resolving longstanding challenges in comprehending their trophic interactions, diet composition, and host-microbiota relationships, and opening new avenues of investigation in ecological studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent molecular techniques to strengthen ecological studies in echinoderms

Rodríguez-Barreras

2024

Rev. Biol. Trop.

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“…This is particularly relevant when applying isotopic approaches to global change research in deep time contexts, given that often there are time gaps in single species sample availability that can be filled only when using multi‐taxa sampling. Individual and group variability in isotopic values of mammal species (e.g., Sheppard et al., 2018; Urton & Hobson, 2005), as well as natural environmental fluctuations and associated effects on diet and trophic interactions (e.g., Selva et al., 2012) may encrypt overall patterns of temporal changes in ecosystems and related drivers, which may be revealed only when looking at more complete communities (Hobson, 2023). Indeed, the use of single species as reliable sentinels to evaluate ecosystem responses to climate change has been questioned (Reed et al., 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stable isotope analysis of tissues of sentinel species has become a powerful tool to infer patterns of environmental change in ecosystems because isotopic measurements integrate numerous processes influencing nutrient flow and trophic interactions, and show high sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions (Alp & Cucherousset, 2022; Bengtson Nash et al., 2018; Hobson, 2023; Hückstädt et al., 2017). Long‐term dietary changes in sentinel species assessed with tissue stable isotope measurements have revealed important changes in ecosystems (e.g., Blight et al., 2015; Dawson & Siegwolf, 2007; Hobson, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mammal communities of primeval forests as sentinels of global change

Selva,

Hobson,

Zalewski

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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Understanding the drivers and consequences of global environmental change is crucial to inform predictions of effects on ecosystems. We used the mammal community of Białowieża Forest, the last lowland near‐primeval forest in temperate Europe, as a sentinel of global change. We analyzed changes in stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of hair in 687 specimens from 50 mammal species across seven decades (1946–2011). We classified mammals into four taxonomic‐dietary groups (herbivores, carnivores, insectivores, and bats). We found a significant negative trend in hair δ15N for the mammal community, particularly strong for herbivores. This trend is consistent with temporal patterns in nitrogen deposition from (15N depleted) industrial fertilizers and fossil fuel emissions. It is also in line with global‐scale declines in δ15N reported in forests and other unfertilized, non‐urban terrestrial ecosystems and with local decreases in N foliar concentrations. The global depletion of 13C content in atmospheric CO2 due to fossil fuel burning (Suess effect) was detected in all groups. After correcting for this effect, the hair δ13C trend became non‐significant for both community and groups, except for bats, which showed a strong decline in δ13C. This could be related to an increase in the relative abundance of freshwater insects taken by bats or increased use of methane‐derived carbon in food webs used by bats. This work is the first broad‐scale and long‐term mammal isotope ecology study in a near‐primeval forest in temperate Europe. Mammal communities from natural forests represent a unique benchmark in global change research; investigating their isotopic temporal variation can help identify patterns and early detections of ecosystem changes and provide more comprehensive and integrative assessments than single species approaches.

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“…Although the use of stable isotope biogeochemistry to infer long-term changes in migratory connectivity is an important tool for ecologists ( 44 ), it can be prone to both short-term and long-term temporal variation that may influence our interpretations of these long-term shifts in connectivity. That said, short-term (annual/seasonal) variation in isotopic concentration do not appear to be reflected in animal tissues ( 45 ) and although long-term trends have been detected for some Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) sites we found no such trends ( SI Appendix , Table S4 ) within the seven GNIP sites situated broadly across the upper Great Lakes region (i.e., breeding region of our winter population).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of tropical rainfall in driving range dynamics for a long-distance migratory bird

Dossman,

Studds,

LaDeau

et al. 2023

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Predicting how the range dynamics of migratory species will respond to climate change requires a mechanistic understanding of the factors that operate across the annual cycle to control the distribution and abundance of a species. Here, we use multiple lines of evidence to reveal that environmental conditions during the nonbreeding season influence range dynamics across the life cycle of a migratory songbird, the American redstart ( Setophaga ruticilla ). Using long-term data from the nonbreeding grounds and breeding origins estimated from stable hydrogen isotopes in tail feathers, we found that the relationship between annual survival and migration distance is mediated by precipitation, but only during dry years. A long-term drying trend throughout the Caribbean is associated with higher mortality for individuals from the northern portion of the species’ breeding range, resulting in an approximate 500 km southward shift in breeding origins of this Jamaican population over the past 30 y. This shift in connectivity is mirrored by changes in the redstart’s breeding distribution and abundance. These results demonstrate that the climatic effects on demographic processes originating during the tropical nonbreeding season are actively shaping range dynamics in a migratory bird.

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Stable isotopes and a changing world

Cited by 12 publications

References 166 publications

Recent molecular techniques to strengthen ecological studies in echinoderms

Recent molecular techniques to strengthen ecological studies in echinoderms

Mammal communities of primeval forests as sentinels of global change

The role of tropical rainfall in driving range dynamics for a long-distance migratory bird

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